The Silence Afterwards
by Roschelle Templar
Summary: In the aftermath of tragedy, one man succumbs to his grief and another one tries to pick up the pieces. One-shot.


Author's Note: Another one-shot...and a long one at that. :) This is sort of a sequel/companion piece to _The Verge of Anything_ in that it takes place a couple months after the events in the previous fic. But it's not really necessary to read one to follow the other. Be warned though that this one is somewhat darker than _Verge_, even with the fluff.

I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters.

Thank you to everyone who reads/favorites/reviews this. It is always appreciated. :)

The Silence Afterwards

In a darkened room within the Presidential Palace of Esthar, Laguna Loire sat near a window and gazed vacantly at the city.

Three days ago, he had gone into his rooms, and he had remained there ever since. Kiros and Ward had stopped by his door numerous times, but they had not been able to get Laguna to let them in. Not even Ellone was able to breach his solitude. Quiet and alone, he continued to sit near this window.

Laguna rubbed his eyes. They were tired and sore from lack of sleep, but sleep was something that he was trying to avoid these days. He knew that if he were to try to rest for even a moment, he would see those eyes again: eyes of ice-blue, eyes staring up at him with the empty, silent stare of death.

Hands curled into fists, and he beat them against the sides of his chair. They had all tried to tell him that sometimes painful decisions, like the ones he had made, had to be faced. They told him that sometimes an enormous price had to be paid and that sometimes that price included human lives. It was a series of platitudes he had heard himself when he joined the Galbadian Army and that he had acknowledged as the president of Esthar.

In this moment, however, those platitudes seemed as hollow as he felt inside.

Tears were threatening to spill out of his eyes, and this time Laguna didn't bother to brush them away. He began to wonder if it would have been better if he had never known that he had a son. Would that have helped him make the decisions he did without any regrets? If he had had no knowledge that he had had a child with Raine, would that have made it any easier to look into those lifeless, blue eyes?

Laguna took a shallow breath and shook his head. No, not knowing about his son would not have made any of this easier. He still would have had to face the loss of a life, and Laguna suspected that something inside him, some vague paternal feelings, would have still found their way to the surface. Besides, even in the midst of the pain drowning him now, Laguna knew that he would never want to give up a single precious memory he had of his son.

But how was he supposed to deal with this? How was he supposed to get the image of eyes that would never see the sun, take in the face of the one he loved, or shine with bravery and intelligence again out of his mind?

How could he forgive himself for making the decision that led to the end of a life that was just beginning?

Laguna put his face in his hands. He knew that no one would blame him for what he had done. A soldier's life was always shadowed by the possibility that it could end in a moment. That was what they had told him when he was in the army, and Laguna was sure that, as a SeeD, this man, this boy, had been told the same thing his whole life. It was part of the training he would have gotten as a member of Garden. But the idea that this young soldier marched willingly to his death did not lessen the sorrow in Laguna's heart. If anything, it made it even harder to bear because he was sure that his decision had been trusted implicitly by the owner of those blue eyes, even as his life faded away. Laguna's role as a leader, made it so that others simply accepted that he would sometimes have to make a choice that would end up sacrificing lives.

Right now though, Laguna wished that someone would blame him. He longed for someone to yell at him and to tell him that he was wrong. It wouldn't make this grief any easier to cope with, but at least then he wouldn't have to keep swallowing so much guilt as the people closest to him kept trying to make him feel better.

'_The president of Esthar…what a farce,' _Laguna thought to himself. '_What am I doing here? What made me think for even one moment that I was cut out for something like this? I could have gone home, back to Winhill, with Ellone. I could have been there with Raine and maybe none of this would have turned out this way. Instead I stayed here. I let myself get blinded by some stupid illusion of duty and now this is the result.'_

Laguna slumped down against a nearby table and buried his face into his forearms while the tears began to flow out. He wished more than anything that he could be with Raine right now. He longed for her comforting touch and for her voice to soothe the pain in his heart. But another part of him was certain that, even if he could have such an impossible wish, he could never face her. Not after what he had done.

In a city bustling with thousands of people, Laguna Loire felt completely alone, and right now, it was exactly the kind of punishment he was sure that he deserved.

He was so caught up in his misery; he did not hear the sound of the door opening or the footsteps that crept toward him. It wasn't until Laguna felt the brush of fingertips on his shoulder, a hesitant, unsure touch, that he was aware of someone else in the room.

"Please go," Laguna choked out. He clamped his hands against his arms and huddled down even more, desperate to keep his face hidden from whoever was standing next to him.

"Laguna."

It was just one word. One word spoken in a soft, but firm voice, one word that broke the silence that had kept him company these last three days. But that one word was enough to break down the last piece of his composure.

'_Squall….'_

* * *

Squall had gotten the call last night.

Recently, there had been a lull in the number of requests for SeeDs, and he had been using the time to catch up on some dreaded paperwork and to relax for a change. Irvine and Zell were arranging "guy's night" of mindless action movies and piles of snacks, and Squall surprised himself when he realized that he was actually looking forward to it.

He had just finished with the last piece of paperwork that urgently needed his attention when his computer blinked, indicating that someone from Esthar was trying to contact him. Sighing, Squall clicked on it and was somewhat shocked to see that it was Kiros and not Laguna who was trying to get a hold of him.

"Squall, I know that it's late and that this is sudden, but I need you to come to Esthar as soon as possible. It's Laguna..." Squall immediately tensed up.

"What is it?" he asked, unsure if he really wanted an answer.

"Have you heard anything about that incident at the Sorceress' Memorial?" Kiros asked him.

Squall nodded and leaned back in his chair while letting out another sigh. As a high-ranking member of SeeD, he had had access to the reports and had read them a few hours earlier. About four days ago, a group of violent radicals had taken a bunch of students and scientists hostage and had holed themselves up at the Sorceress' Memorial. They had demanded an audience with the president of Esthar so they could give him their list of demands and had announced that they would start killing hostages if President Loire did not show up in person by dawn of the next day.

At the time, Balamb Garden was in a distant part of the ocean due to a recent assignment to help out an excavation crew who had been stranded, and so Galbadia Garden accepted President Loire's request for assistance to capture the terrorists and save the hostages. The plan had been to have SeeDs pose as government aides and accompany the president so they could ambush the terrorists once they came out to meet with him.

It was a solid plan, but it did not play out the way the way it was supposed to.

Instead of a swift and relatively nonviolent resolution to the crisis, three of the hostages were killed along with all of the terrorists and over half of the team of SeeDs. There would have been even more causalities, including President Loire, if it hadn't been for the Esthar soldiers who had concealed themselves nearby and who had been given orders to intervene if necessary.

"I read about, yes," Squall said. "According to the reports, Laguna wasn't hurt in the struggle. Wait, are you saying that that was wrong? Is he….?"

"No no, it's not wrong," Kiros assured him. "He had blood all over him by the time we finally got to him, but miraculously, he wasn't hurt. Not physically, anyway."

"What do you mean?" Squall asked. Kiros shook his head and lowered his eyes.

"Laguna…he is not taking this well at all," he said. "And before I say anything else, I think you should take another look at those reports. Especially this one about one of the members of that SeeD squad."

Kiros posted a screenshot of the dossier of the SeeD in question, and when he saw the photo attached, Squall let out a long gust of air. It wasn't an exact resemblance by any stretch, but Squall had to admit that the guy looked a lot like him, even down to the same hue of blue in his eyes.

"Apparently, he managed to get Laguna out of the line of fire," Kiros continued once he reappeared on the screen. "But he also ended up getting killed in the process. When Ward and I found him, Laguna, he…he was trying everything he could to save that kid's life, but it was too late. And those hostages who died…none of them were over twelve years old."

Squall frowned and nodded. It had been a senseless loss of life, and he could understand why Laguna would be upset.

"After he was checked over by his personal physician, Laguna shut himself in his rooms, and he hasn't come out since," Kiros said. "Ward and I have tried, even Ellone has tried, but he's not letting anyone in and now it's been over a day since any of us have heard anything from him. Squall, I'll be honest with you, the last time I was this worried about him was after he found out about Raine….But this, this is different. Back then, he would let me and Ward try to help him. This time though…."

Kiros fell silent, as if he had run out of words, but Squall was confident that nothing more needed to be said. Truthfully, he didn't know how his coming to Esthar could possibly help if Kiros and Ward weren't able to get anywhere. Still, he could only think of one answer to give Kiros.

"I'll be there in a few hours."

* * *

By late morning the next day, Squall was walking down the corridors of the Presidential Palace. Shortly after talking to Kiros, Squall had asked Zell to pilot the Ragnarok so he could run an errand in Esthar tomorrow. He knew that Selphie would be disappointed that she missed out on a chance to fly the Ragnarok and to visit "Sir Laguna", but Squall figured that it would be better to go with someone who wouldn't insist on accompanying him when he went to confront Laguna.

Once they reached Esthar, Zell kicked back with a stack of battle series magazines and agreed to wait in the cockpit until Squall was finished. Squall then briefly met with Kiros and Ward, who thanked him for coming right before they encouraged him to check on Laguna.

Soon, Squall arrived at Laguna's living quarters, and tried to open the door to no avail. He thought about knocking, but then he noticed that the lock appeared to be a simple mechanism, easy for someone like him to pick. After reminding himself that Kiros was monitoring the alarm system for the building, Squall decided to try unlocking the door himself. He pulled out a small pouch of tools from his pocket, and in about a minute, he had unhitched the lock and was able to walk through the door.

Squall quietly entered the front room area and noted that all of the lights were dimmed. He then heard a muffled sound and glanced over toward the window. There he could see the outline of a figure in a chair, hunched over a table. As he moved closer, he realized that Laguna was trembling and was starting to cry.

Squall stopped moving and looked down at the floor. He knew that Laguna was in distress, Kiros had made that perfectly clear, but he still had not expected to find his father so close to breaking down.

'_What am I supposed to do now? I can't handle something like this.'_

Laguna continued to keep his head down, and Squall soon realized that his father wasn't even aware that he was in the room.

At that point, Squall was tempted turn around and walk, if not run, away. It was hard enough for him to deal with his own problems and emotions, and he was immensely uncomfortable with the prospect of dealing with Laguna while he was in this state. It would be easy to simply leave and to tell Kiros that there was nothing he could do.

The moment he turned to leave, however, Squall found that he could not go through with it. He may have wanted to run away from this situation, but he then realized that the sound of his father's tears tore at his heart in a way most things never could. He thought back to all those times in his childhood when he had also cried alone, wishing that someone would care enough to try to comfort him. A brief flicker of old hurt flared up inside him over the fact that Laguna had not been there to give that comfort, but it was tempered by his recently gained acceptance of the fact that Laguna simply had not had the option to be a father to him back then.

Squall took a deep breath and forced himself to keep walking toward Laguna. He still had no clue as to what he should do, but he was determined to try something.

'_Rinoa's always telling me to just listen to my heart. Just listen and let myself follow it.'_

'_Well…it's not like I've got any better ideas….'_

He carefully approached Laguna from the side and watched him for a moment before gingerly reaching down to touch Laguna's shoulder.

"Please go," Laguna replied, his voice hoarse and unsteady. Squall considered complying with that request for a few seconds before swallowing hard and finding his voice.

"Laguna."

Squall had hoped that once Laguna realized that he was there, he would stop crying. He was dismayed, however, when Laguna sobbed even more upon hearing his voice.

'_This is a mistake. I shouldn't be here. I'm no good at things like this.'_

Squall closed his eyes and tried to silence the doubts raging inside him before placing his hand back on Laguna's shoulder.

"Kiros told me what happened," he said. "At the Sorceress' Memorial."

Squall gently clasped Laguna's shoulder for a moment before crouching down to sit on the floor beside the chair Laguna was in. He then crossed his arms over his chest and quietly kept a vigil over him. He supposed that he could have tried to say more, but Squall couldn't think of any words that didn't seem trite or shallow given the circumstances, and he hoped that Laguna could find some solace in his presence at any rate.

Several minutes later, Squall could tell that Laguna's tears had ceased, but his father still did not move.

"Squall," Laguna croaked out. "I'm sorry…about all this. You…you don't have to stay…."

Squall sighed and ran a hand over his face. He could tell that Laguna was mortified that he had just witnessed this outpouring of grief, and he felt a surge of sympathy overtake him.

"You're right. I don't have to stay," Squall replied. "But I'm going to anyway. So…if you want to talk…."

Squall let his voice trail off and he pulled his knees closer to his chest and rested his arms against them while he waited to see what Laguna would do next.

A few moments later, Laguna raised his head, got up from his chair, and dropped down to sit beside Squall on the floor. Laguna started to pull his legs closer to him, but instead he slumped against the chair and bowed his head. Squall looked over at him and blinked hard. Instead the usual cheer and enthusiasm lighting up his features, Laguna looked drawn, his emerald eyes dull and haunted.

"It was my fault," Laguna murmured. Squall frowned and scrunched his eyebrows together.

"What do you mean? What was your fault?"

"I tried," Laguna said. "I thought that the plan would work. I thought that if I actually showed up like they wanted, they would get careless and would leave themselves wide open. I, I was sure that it would be so easy for SeeD to take them out. SeeD's the best of the best, right? There was no way a group like that could get the upper hand, not against SeeD."

"Laguna…."

"I originally wanted to hire you and your team for this," Laguna continued. "I kept telling myself 'Squall can handle it. He can get this job done, no problem. He's so good at what he does, this will be a piece of pie to him.' I really thought that."

Laguna chuckled and began to smile, but Squall was disturbed when he saw that there was absolutely no trace of happiness or amusement in his eyes.

"You know, I was actually a little excited about all this," he said. "I was sure that everything would work out, and so I started to think about how great it was that you were coming to Esthar. And then I was so disappointed when I found out that you guys wouldn't be able to accept our request and that we have to go with Galbadia Garden instead. Oh sure, I was confident that they would be able to get the job done too, and ultimately that was the most important thing. But I still kept wishing that it could have been you and your friends."

Laguna laughed again, and Squall felt his uneasiness grow. At first, he had thought that this whole thing had just been about Laguna staggering under the weight of his responsibilities as president or that he may have been traumatized by watching all those people die right in front of him. But now Squall was beginning to suspect that there was far more to this than he had previously thought.

"Those SeeDs from Galbadia, they are a great bunch of guys," Laguna said. "Very professional, of course, but still, they…wait, no…no, that's not quite right, is it? I guess I can't say that they are a great bunch anymore, can I? Not after…not after…."

Laguna's lips moved, but no sound came out and soon even that movement stopped. He shifted about, and Squall thought that he was going to get up, but instead, he turned so he could look him in the eye.

"One of those SeeDs reminded me of you," Laguna said. "Not only did he kind of look like you, he was quiet and reserved like you too. After the mission briefing, while we were waiting to make our move, I spent some time talking to him, even tried cracking a joke or two. At first, I think he was surprised and didn't know what to make of me, but eventually I was able to get him to smile and he started to open up. Listening to him talk about his work and the things he wanted to do, I couldn't help but think of you yet again. Recently, I had been wishing that I could do a better job at making you feel comfortable around me, and I guess I thought that this was a sign that things were going to get better between us soon. Weird, huh? About how you can make connections like that, I mean."

Laguna slouched back down and stared at his hands in his lap.

"You know, the fighting didn't really last that long," he said. "That's how it is sometimes. I saw it more than once when I was a soldier, and I'm sure you know what I'm talking about from your own battles. I don't remember much about the battle itself. When I think about this, the one thing I remember the most was how quiet it was once it was over. Everyone, the Esthar soldiers, the SeeDs, and even the hostages, they just kept looking at all the people lying on the ground. A couple of them did try to save the ones who had been injured…but for the most part, they were beyond saving. I know about that because I tried too and I…."

Squall nodded to show that he understood even though he wasn't sure if Laguna would notice it.

"It didn't happen right away," Laguna murmured. "That kid kept fighting to live, and I kept encouraging him to hold on. I tried everything I could think of to comfort him, but I could tell that he was still scared because somehow he knew that he was dying. Soon…he was quiet too, but I just kept babbling away like a moron. I'm sure that's what you would have said about me if you had been there. And after that, after it was all over, and Kiros and Ward kept asking me if I was all right, I kept thinking again about how much I had wished that you had been there, how I had wished that you and your friends had been the ones who…."

Laguna laughed again, the sound strained and unnatural. He soon quit, however, and pulled his legs closer to him, clasping his arms across his shins while keeping his head down. Squall thought for a moment that Laguna would start crying again, but instead he remained quiet and still as he stared at the fabric of his jeans.

Squall put a hand to his face and rubbed it. He could tell that Laguna felt responsible for those deaths, and that seemed logical given how it had been Laguna's decision to go with the plan that they did. A part of him wondered how Laguna had coped with decisions like this in the past if this affected him so much. After all, as the president of Esthar, it was a certainty that he would have had to make other life-and-death decisions before this. It came with the job…and it was something Squall was familiar with as the commander of Balamb Garden.

Squall then glanced over at Laguna, who still hadn't moved or made a sound, and it occurred to him that neither one of them had asked for this kind of responsibility. Laguna had been thrust into his role as president, much like how Cid had shoved him into his current position in Garden. Maybe neither of them would have accepted these roles if they had had a chance to turn them down or think about how moments like this would come up, and yet, they both made the decision to put aside their own hesitations and take on those responsibilities. The only difference was that Laguna had been doing this for far longer than he had. Squall then wondered how much it had cost his father to cling so tenaciously to his principles and integrity, how Laguna had been able to keep himself from becoming completely cynical as a result, and if he would be able to be as strong as Laguna had been after years of doing this.

As he mulled over all of that, Squall came to the epiphany that the weight of responsibility and the loss of life had only exacerbated the guilt at the core of Laguna's grief: guilt that had made the decisions that he did and guilt that he had survived.

Worst of all though was the guilt Laguna felt over wishing that it had been Balamb Garden that had accepted his request instead of Galbadia. Squall soon realized that his father was punishing himself simply because he had briefly been thrilled to have an excuse to see his son again and because there was the faint possibility that it could have been him instead of that Galbadian SeeD dying in Laguna's arms. He thought about how Rinoa had told him more than once that keeping up this barrier between him and Laguna was doing far more harm than good, and right now, Squall could that she had a point.

Squall took a breath and raised his head. He was still at a loss as to how to tackle most of this, but he decided that it was time for him to do what he could.

"Laguna," he said. "It may have been your decision to go with that plan, but it was not your fault that those people died. You are not responsible for their deaths."

"No, don't you see? I was the one who gave the order. I…."

"Listen to me, I read those reports," Squall interrupted. "Your plan would have worked if the SeeD in charge had not been so eager to jump into battle. If he had kept his head and waited, they could have finished things a lot quicker and with a lot less bloodshed. Instead he and most of his cohorts blew it by not making sure that the terrorists were sufficiently outflanked before acting. They were the ones responsible, not you."

"But I…I didn't even try," Laguna mumbled. "I couldn't even…couldn't even…."

"Couldn't what?" Squall asked him. "Couldn't fight them? You didn't have any weapons. What were you supposed to do?"

"I don't know. But I…I should have done something, right?"

"Laguna, you did what you could," Squall replied with a touch of exasperation. "You tried to save that SeeD's life. You stuck by him until the very end even though you could have been killed too. And if you're questioning your courage, you shouldn't be. How many people in your position do you think would have been willing to walk into that situation, unarmed and vulnerable, just to save a few civilian lives? You could have let those SeeDs come in ahead of you, it would have been safer. Instead, you were right at the forefront of that assault because you knew that your plan had a better chance of succeeding if you put up the appearance of compliance with their demands."

"I know, I know," Laguna said. "I get what you're saying, and you're right, but I…I just can't…."

Squall pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed. He knew that he was starting to get through, but was also clear that Laguna was still unable or unwilling to take the needed steps to finally move past his sorrow. Desperate to put an end to this struggle, Squall decided to try one last approach.

"Dad."

Laguna immediately looked up at him, his eyes registering surprise, and Squall slowly put his hand back on Laguna's arm.

"You did the best you could, the best anyone could have done in that situation," Squall said. "What happened was horrible, but you have to let it go now. Just let it go, Dad. I'm still here, so there's no point in agonizing over what could have happened."

"Squall, I'm…."

"Stop that," Squall said, cutting him off. "Do not start apologizing for wanting to spend time around me. I know that you don't mean to do it, but things like that make me feel like an even bigger jerk than I've been accused of being. That…and it…I can't help but think that maybe sometimes…sometimes you wish that you could have had a different son…someone who you could have…."

"No!" Laguna insisted, the spark returning to his eyes. "I know you don't want me to say 'sorry' again, but this time I have to say it: I am sorry, Squall. I am so sorry if I made you think for even one second that I regret having you for my son because I never have. Not once."

Laguna clapped his hand onto the one Squall had on his arm, and squeezed it. The two of them stared into each other's eyes, both of them communicating far more than they ever could with words. A couple minutes later, the moment ended and they both turned toward the window nearby.

"Dad, listen, I know you have a lot going on around here," Squall said. "But I was talking to Kiros and Ward earlier and they seem to think that you probably need a break after all this."

"I guess," Laguna shrugged. "Heck, they probably need one too after what I just put them through."

"Anyway, I was thinking, why don't you fly back to Garden with me?" Squall added. "Irvine and Zell have got this thing planned for later tonight, and I thought that maybe it'd be a good way to unwind. It's just us getting together to enjoy some loud movies and some good food. It's nothing exciting, but…."

"Are you kidding?" Laguna said. "That sounds perfect. I'm there. Oh but hey, you think I could drag Kiros and Ward along too? You know how they are. They never want to be left out of anything."

"No, that's fine," Squall said as he pulled himself up from the floor. "Just as long you guys contribute to the feast and don't try to alter our movie selection. If you have a secret fascination with chick flicks, I don't want to know about it."

"Me? No way," Laguna said with a smile as he hopped up to his feet. "But I can't say the same thing for Ward. You'd never know it to look at him, but he's actually a sucker for that romantic stuff. And Kiros, don't even get me started on his historical drama obsession."

Squall smirked and Laguna grinned back at him. Both of them knew that their jabs and jokes were pitiful, but they both felt a wonderful sense of release at being able to shift back to a more playful atmosphere.

"I'm going to head back to the Ragnarok and wait," Squall said.

"Gotcha," Laguna nodded. "I can get going in an hour tops. Oh and hey, Squall, is there anything in particular that you guys would like for this get-together of yours?"

"Hmm," Squall said, putting a hand to his chin. "How about some pizza?"

"Pizza, huh," Laguna said. "You got it."

* * *

Three hours later, Squall, Irvine, and Zell were gathered in a large, vacant dorm room at Balamb Garden that they customized for their gathering with a few chairs and couches and a giant projection screen on one of the walls.

"Ok, food's pretty much ready," Irvine said as he placed a couple of platters on the tables at the back of the room.

"Cool," Zell said. "Hey, Irvine, where did you learn how to cook?"

"Oh that," Irvine said with a smile. "Well it turns out that asking a girl to show you how to make something is actually a great way to…create the right ambiance, if you know what I mean."

"Please spare us the details," Squall said, holding up a hand at him. "I'd like to be able to enjoy my food later."

"Yo Squall, where's Laguna, Kiros and Ward," Zell said. "I thought you said that they were coming."

"They are," Squall replied. "Laguna said something about finding some pizza on the way over here, so I guess that's what he is doing right now."

"Well he better show up soon," Zell grumbled. "That is, unless he wants to miss out on all those quesadillas Irvine made."

Seconds after Zell said that, there was a knock at the door. Squall got up to open it and found Laguna standing outside with another smile on his face.

"Pizza's here," he announced. "Ok guys, bring them in."

Squall was about to ask what he meant by before he ended goggling at the procession delivery men and stacks of pizza that were entering the room.

"Um, Laguna," Squall said. "What's with the fortress of pizza? You do know that it's just going to be six of us, right?"

"Oh sure," Laguna said as he darted out of the way of the men bringing in even more boxes of food. "But I figured that what we didn't eat, we could just give to everyone else here at Garden, or we could just eat some of it for breakfast tomorrow. Pizza is one of the most versatile foods out there, after all."

"I don't know if I even want to imagine how much this all cost," Irvine said, his voice tinged with awe. "Or how you were able to get all this through the security gates."

"Ha, the answer to both of those is simple," Laguna replied. "I mean, you talking to the president of Esthar. There's not a whole lot out there that's impossible for me to manage."

"Wow," Zell said from the back of the room. "When did they start making hot-dog themed pizzas?"

"Sorry about all this," Kiros said as he and Ward finished tipping the delivery men. "But you know how Laguna is: it's all too easy for him to get carried away."

"…."

"And Laguna, Ward said that adding on that many orders of breadsticks was just gratuitous," Kiros said.

"Oh come on, I had to do that if I was getting this many pizzas," Laguna replied. "Pizza without breadsticks is like hamburgers without fries or peanut butter without marshmallow cream…it just isn't done."

"Peanut butter and marshmallow cream?" Squall said with a shudder.

"Hey, don't say it like that until you've tried it," Laguna protested. "So, let's get this show started."

* * *

Thirty minutes after everyone served themselves and settled in to watch the movie, they looked over at the couch to see that Laguna had fallen into a deep sleep. Squall was sitting next to him, and was reaching over to nudge his shoulder when Kiros shook his head.

"We should leave him alone," he said. "This is probably the first time in the last three days that he's been able to rest."

"Think we should stop the movie and move this party to somewhere else?" Zell said. "You know, so he can have some peace?"

"Laguna has always been able to sleep through just about anything," Kiros said with a smile. "So don't worry about that. Trust me, he won't be waking up any time soon."

"Ok then," Irvine said with a shrug. "Let's get back to the movie."

Everyone nodded, and Squall got off the couch and moved out of the way while Kiros and Ward carefully eased Laguna to lie down and covered him with a blanket that had been hanging on the back of one of the chairs. Irvine and Zell moved a chair close to Squall for him to sit in, but Squall ended up sitting down on the floor in front of the couch next to his father instead. They then settled back in to finish the movie.

As they watched, Squall leaned back and glanced over at Laguna's slumbering form. He wondered how his father was able to rest with all the noise around him, but then it occurred to him that Laguna had had more than enough silence over the last three days and that, in some perverse way, this might actually be soothing to him.

Laughter suddenly filled the room, and Squall turned his gaze back toward the screen and smiled. He didn't say anything else to Laguna for the rest of the night, but Squall was pretty sure that his father was happy with the way things were just the same.


End file.
